. >>> obama to boehner, get serious. let's play "hardball." ♪ >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this. the republicans have their plan, and it's great news for the rich. speaker john boehner just put it out. those at the top, the 2%, are safe. your bush tax cuts are going to keep on giving. one problem, mr. boehner, you lost. that was your position before the election, and you lost. mitt romney campaigned on keeping the tax cuts for the wealthy, and he lost. and he promised to do what john boehner is doing right now, and he lost. how about some respect for the electorate? how about seeing what the 2012 presidential debate was about? obama championed tax fairness and won. republicans championed protecting that 2%, ignoring the 47% he talked about, and they lost. today boehner said he's willing to raise revenues by the same amount he agreed to back in august of 2011, the last time they had this fight. again, he's willing to act like the election never happened. no wonder. again, he lost. joining me is joy reid of the grio